At the cusp of seeing momentum swing away from them, two big plays by Oak Ridge running back Matt Moore and defensive tackle Chris Ramsey turned the final game of the regular season in the Wildcats favor as they defeated Campbell County 33-8.

Robert Holder

At the cusp of seeing momentum swing away from them, two big plays by Oak Ridge running back Matt Moore and defensive tackle Chris Ramsey turned the final game of the regular season in the Wildcats favor as they defeated Campbell County 33-8.

“To win the district (outright) for the first time in seven years is a testament to how hard these kids and these coaches have worked,” Oak Ridge coach Scott Blade said.

After getting out to a slow start and clinging to just a 7-0 halftime lead, Oak Ridge (9-1, 8-0 in District 3-AAA) marched 57 yards in four plays and scored on a 28-yard romp by quarterback Rian Hall off the right side of the offensive line.

Two plays later, Campbell County (3-7, 2-6) broke free on a short crossing route that turned into a 79-yard score by Trey Torres from Ethan Jeffers. The Cougars scored a two-point converstion on a fake point-after attempt to cut the lead to just 13-8 with 9:11 left in the third, but they would get no closer.

Matt Moore returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards straight up the middle of the field for a touchdown.

Oak Ridge’s defense then got in on the act, coming away with its third interception of the night— in the team’s fourth straight multi-interception game — from one of its most unlikely sources.

Defensive tackle Chris Ramsey spun to the inside, caught the ball and rolled 21 yards for the score in the fourth quarter.

“The kickoff return by Matt Moore was big and really helped swing it a little more in our favor,” coach Blade said. “Then we had the interception return by Chris Ramsey, a defensive lineman, in the red zone. Those two plays were big in getting us over the top tonight.”

Ramsey admitted after the game it was all luck.

“When I turned, it hit me in the face,” the senior lineman said. “I just closed my eyes and took off.”

Before the two plays, both sides of the ‘Cats team were having difficulty with the Cougars pass-happy attack. Campbell County moved the ball effectively through the air for most of the night as Jeffers went 29-of-45 passing for 238 yards, but the defense either bowed up with tipped passes at the line or interceptions, or the Cougars stalled.

Oak Ridge tallied at least seven tipped passes at the line.

Offensively, the ‘Cats had a hard time sustaining drives with missed catches or throws that were off. Hall finished 9-of-22 passing for 137 yards.

A 13-play drive at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth ended with a fumble inside the red zone.

It wasn’t until the final drive, a five-play, 39-yard effort, that was capped by a 3-yard quarterback keeper by Hall with 57.3 seconds left that the game felt totally out of reach.

“We have to come out ready and see if we can get on the right track for the playoffs,” coach Blade said.

Moore led all rushers with 19 carries and 155 yards, nearly five times more than all of Campbell County’s backs (31 yards) combined. The Cougars Torres had 150 yards receiving, 13 yards more than all the Oak Ridge receivers combined.

Playoffs

Things didn’t look good for Oak Ridge hosting but by virtue of a pair of come-from-behind victories, the Wildcats will get a playoff game at Blankenship Field for the first time since 2005 when the team was Class 5A runner-up to Ravenwood. McMinn County’s 21-point reversal over Bradley Central and Dobyns-Bennett’s overtime win over Science Hill means the No. 5 seed in quadrant 1 Hilltoppers will come to Oak Ridge at 7 p.m. Friday.

The winner will advance to face the winner of the No. 1 Maryville vs. No. 8 Hardin Valley game.

Hardin Valley fought their way into the playoffs with a win over Karns to get to 5-5 on the season.

The meeting between Oak Ridge and Science Hill will be the fourth all time in the playoffs. The Wildcats own a 3-0 advantage. The last playoff meeting also came in 2005 in the first round. Oak Ridge won 48-28.

Oak Ridge will be among the best in the state in quadrant 1. On top of No. 1 ranked Maryville, four other ranked teams — No. 4 Dobyns-Bennett, No. 5 Science Hill and tied for No. 9 Bearden and Sevier County, reside in the quad. Oak Ridge is currently No. 7.

If things fall the right way and Oak Ridge is able to advance, the Wildcats could face a ranked team every week of the playoffs.